What would you do?

[Bananaapplegrape]

Back story.. We adopted a puppy 6 months ago with 'neurological issues' which resulted in her walking a bit like she was drunk but overall a good quality of life.. She's now just under a year old and in the last 3 weeks has deteriorated rapidly to the point where she can no longer use her back legs at all and is pooing in the house (due to lack of control) She's developed a commando crawl which means she can get about but it takes 2 people too walk her (or carry her).

she's not insured due to it being a pre existing condition - vet is certain it's a nerve/spinal issue.. We could find out for sure but that would be around £1500 for an MRI and then probably over 5,000 for the surgery that might help (might).

We don't have 5,000 - the rescue have said they can do fund raising..

DH and DS cannot face up to where (IMO) this is leading.. Even the vet said it would be fairer to PTS.. But she's currently on steroids and anti inflammatory's in the hopes it helps.

She's not in any pain at all.. And DH feels that whilst she's not in pain we should give her a chance...

What would you do? We could get a loan, or we could try fund raising but how long would that take?

I sound heartless don't I? I'm not I promise.. I just can't do this :(

No you are not heartless. I do have insurance precisely because there is absolutely no way I could - or would - fork out that kind of money. I am a single mother with 3 children and I make no apologies for the fact that in your situation I would pts, especially as there seems to be no certainly at all that the dog will recover.

I do appreciate it is a horrible, horrible choice to make, but for that money and no insurance it is a no-brainer for me.

Progressive congenital conditions usually have a poor prognosis. Do you know for sure she's not in pain? Chronic pain is very difficult to assess, and she's also not able to do any if the normal doggy things that make life fun, which be behaviourally frustrating

Pain or not I wouldn't keep a pet alive with that severe a mobility issue.

I might, possibly look into surgery, but, I'd want pretty good odds of it working because I wouldn't want to put them through a major surgery without knowing it was likely to be a good outcome for them.

So nothing at all to do with money for me, I'd be thinking about having her PTS tbh.

The vet did a variety of different tests and she showed no pain reaction - she's eating normally (or more in fact due to steroids) and is happy to play tuggy etc.. Mostly she just lays on the sofa being stroked..

She can't wag her tail.. It's stupid isn't it? A 11 month old puppy who is probably about to die and I'm focussed on the fact she can't wag her tail

Everyone is just hoping for a miracle.

For the type of injury she has likely got (hard to be sure due to No MRI) it's got about a 60% chance of giving her back her mobility

I agree with tabulahrasa.

The poor dog does not have a good quality of life. It's not possible for her as she can't move around.

Cost aside, surgery is likely to be fairly traumatic for her. And then it might not benefit her much.

If she is PTS, she will not know about it, she will not suffer. She will have enjoyed her short life as much as she can, and she will be spared further deterioration of quality of life.

I realise I may sound brutal, but when owners put these poor creatures through rounds of surgery which may make for a negligible on the animal's quality of life, I don't think it's really for the animal's benefit.

If she were mine I'd have the MRI so that at least I would know whether there was any possibility of successful treatment , it's a difficult one though and there is no right or wrong choice - Best wishes to you all .

I also agree with tabulahrasa

Being pain free does not automatically mean her quality of life is good and having such severe mobility and continence issues must be having an impact.

Even the vet said it would be fairer to PTS.

I would listen to your vet. In my experience they really don't suggest PTS lightly.

Another one here who'd listen to the vet. I wouldn't PTS lightly but in this case it really does sound like the dog's quality of life is very poor.

I'd be reluctant to spend the first £1500 with a probable further decision to PTS.

What an awful situation to be in.

It is very difficult to make any decision without a diagnosis for which you need the MRI. Are you seeing a specialist vet? My general understanding is that conditions that present with pain, like herniated disks, have good surgical outcomes, whereas conditions that present with no pain, like degenerative myelopathy, have no treatment and a very poor prognosis. Given how quickly your poor dog has degenerated and the lack of pain my gut feeling would be that this is not treatable, but I would ask a specialist to see if they can make an educated guess even without the MRI.

I have used a doggy wheelchair for a dog with degenerative myelopathy and he loved it. It gave him another 4 months of walks as normal so perhaps this is something that you might want to consider.

Earlier this year we agreed to surgery (not a similar condition) and our dog went through hell then ended up having to be PTS 3 weeks later with the vet still offering more treatment ideas

You gave the puppy a good chance in life, make sure he knows he is loved, and listen to the vet.

I'd PTS. The dog has no quality of life. Poor thing and poor you OP

I'm so sorry op how awful.for you .

Armed with your information, I think it would be kind to pts.

I'm sorry that must be horrible to hear though